According to Motorcheck.ie, sales to date are 17 percent more than last year, with 23,360 new cars registered to date.
This compares to 20,023 in the same period last year, and 54,252 in 2008.
Used passenger imports registered over the period, at 5,828, are 36 percent down.
And commercial vehicle registrations, at 3,631, are up 19 percent on last year, but far short of the 11,877 in the same period of 2008.
